Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission

After a three-year probe, state liquor regulators asked an administrative court to cancel every permit held by Spec's, the state's largest liquor retailer, or fine it more than $700 million. Instead, the judges recommended nothing but a warning.

Kevin Lilly is one step closer to becoming a commissioner at the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission — an embattled state agency that’s been in the Legislature’s crosshairs over controversial spending practices in recent months.

Amid a controversy over travel to fancy resorts and other spending controversies, the head of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, Sherry Cook, announced she was stepping down from her job effective May 23.

For more than three hours, top TABC officials were grilled by House members for misusing state resources, taking trips to Hawaii on the taxpayers’ dime, mixing vacation with state duties, misreporting who has been assigned which state-owned vehicles, and cozying up to the very industry they’re supposed to be regulating.

The state's top alcohol administrator received "hazardous duty" pay while in Hawaii. And the TABC brass has gotten trained as police officers, which allows them to get take-home cars, free gas and an array of weaponry, according to records and interviews.

All the jet-setting and partying by the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, as depicted in an internal flier the agency produced, would come to a screeching halt under budgetary amendments filed Tuesday by state Reps. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs and Ramon Romero, D-Fort Worth.

A local Austin coffee bar has been fighting the TABC since 2015 for the right to sell crowlers, aluminum cans filled with draft beer and sealed with a pull tab lid. Legislators are trying to prevent similar conflicts in the future.

On this week's TribCast, Emily talks to Evan, Jay and Ross about liquor regulators partying on the taxpayer dime, Energy Secretary Rick Perry's high interest in a historic Texas A&M student body election and the likelihood of a special legislative session.

Texas liquor regulators claimed this week that an investigative report about its sale of alcohol at a state convention had been turned over to the Texas Rangers. That story fell apart Friday, a day after the Texas Tribune reported on TABC lavish spending practices at out of state conventions.

Two state lawmakers say they'd like to question Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission officials about a Texas Tribune investigation that highlighted out-of-state trips the state liquor regulators took to lavish resorts as far away as Hawaii.

Wal-Mart is ginning up a full-bore liquor war and bringing it to the Capitol. Last week it sued the state for the right to sell spirits, and Wednesday it joined Kroger in forming a new nonprofit to promote freedom in the booze marketplace.

Wal-Mart is allowed to sell beer and wine at 546 Texas stores, but state law keeps it from selling hard liquor. On Thursday, the company filed a federal lawsuit challenging that rule in the interest of a "fair and level playing field."